SOCCER
Charges sought for collapse
Brazil’s investigative police say they are seeking homicide charges against 19 people in the deaths of a man and a woman caused by the collapse of an unfinished overpass in the World Cup host city of Belo Horizonte. Police investigator Hugo e Silva said he sent the results of his probe to prosecutors on Wednesday. He says those named demonstrated a “disregard for basic norms of safety” by failing to correct problems in the structure, even after being repeatedly warned by specialists. Those implicated include government officials and architects, as well as engineers for two construction firms. Twenty-three were injured in the July 3 collapse. A bus, two construction trucks and a car were crushed beneath tons of concrete and steel on a major thoroughfare.
SOCCER
LFP probes players for bets
Fifteen professional players are being investigating by the French Football League (LFP) for breaking anti-betting regulations, the LFP said on Wednesday. It added that there was no suspicion of match fixing and that 23 “educators” (staff members) were also under investigation for breaking the same rules. The regulations state that no player, referee or staff member is allowed to bet on “competitions organised by the LFP.” In the 2013-2014 season, 87 professional players were found guilty of betting offences by the LFP, with 37 of them being sanctioned with fines.
BOXING
Uchiyama, Taguchi defend
Japanese boxer Takashi Uchiyama beat Thai challenger Jomthong Chuwatana by technical knockout in the second round to defend his WBA super featherweight title on Wednesday. Uchiyama improved to 23-0 with one draw and 19 wins by knockout. It was the 10th defense of the title he first won in January 2010. Jomthong fell to 9-1. Also, Ryoichi Taguchi of Japan made his first successful defense of the WBA light flyweight title he won in December last year with an eighth-round TKO of Kwanthai Sithmorseng of Thailand. Taguchi improved to 22-2 with one draw and nine wins by knockout. Kwanthai dropped to 49-4-1.
SKIING
Tina Maze takes year off
Two-time Olympic champion Tina Maze of Slovenia has announced a one-year break from ski racing before deciding about continuing her career. The 32-year-old Maze said on her Web site: “I feel that my body and my mind need a longer rest than usual. I will allow myself a one-year break before taking any further decision.” Maze, who earned gold in downhill and giant slalom at the Sochi Games last year, won the 2013 overall World Cup title with a record total of 2,414 points. Last season, she finished runner-up to Anna Fenninger of Austria and won two gold medals at the world championships in Vail and Beaver Creek. Maze is one of just six female skiers who have won World Cup races in all five Alpine disciplines.
ATHLETICS
Gustafsson banned for EPO
Swedish sports officials have banned race walker Andreas Gustafsson for two years after he was found guilty of using the blood-boosting hormone EPO. The sports confederation’s anti-doping unit says the 33-year-old failed a drugs test conducted in December last year in California by the US Anti-Doping Agency. Gustafsson, who was temporarily suspended in March for failing the test, has admitted to using EPO. He is one of Sweden’s best walkers and has competed in world championships and top European events.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later